Fruit-packing case



(No Model.)

R. J. PATTERSON.

FRUIT PACKING CASE. No. 430,878. Patented June 24, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT FFlCE.

RALPH .I. PATTERSON, OF DOCTOR TOIVN, GEORGIA.

FRUIT-PACKING CASE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 430,878, dated June 24,1890.

Application filed March 11, 1890- Serial No. 343,464. (No model) To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH J. PATTERSON, a citizen. of the United States,residing at Dector Town, in the county of IVayne and State of Georgia,have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Fruit-Packing Gases;

.and I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in packingcases or 01 ates, and while it is designed more particularly for thatclass employed in packing oranges and other like perishable fruits fortrans 'mrtation, yet I do not wish to be confined to the adoption of theinvention for such purposes alone, as it may be found equally as wellfitted for other uses.

The invention has for its object, among others, to simplify and cheapenthe construction, to render it better fitted for the purposes for whichit is intended, and at the same time to render fully as durable thisclass of devices. I employ a center to the heads which is thinner thanthe surrounding portions, said thinner portion being reticulated orperforated, if desired, for providing ventilation, and, on account ofits thinness, being yielding, so as not to injure the fruit.

Other objects and advantages of theinvention will hereinafter appear,and the novel features thereof will be specifically defined by theappended claims.

The novelty resides in the peculiar eon1binations and the construction,arrangement, and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafterdescribed, shown in the drawings, and then particularly pointed out inthe claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which, with the letters of reference marked thereon, form a part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fruitpackage or case constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is atop plan of the same. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the head of thecase detached and the several parts composing the same separated, but intheir relative positions. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of aslightly-modified form of head, showing the head complete. Fig. 5 is aperspective view of the several parts of thehead of Fig. 4 detached.

Referring now to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates thebody of a packing-case, which is preferably cylindrical, orsubstantially so, in form, as shown. The body may be formed. of slats orstaves, arranged so as to leave spaces therebetween to formaventilating-case; or the slats or staves may be arranged as shown inFig. 4., top planthat is, with one edge tapered, as shown .at (l,

and the other edge arranged to overlap the tapered edge of the adjacentstave, as shown in said Fig. at. The case may be bulged or have straightsides, as preferred.

The staves K, formingthe sides of the case, are of thin material and ofany desired number, although I preferably employ five, all but one beingnailed at their ends to the outer edges of the heads of thecase and moresecurely held in position by the hoops or bands I. The remaining stave Jis not secured to the case until after the latter has been filled,whenit is nailed in place through the hoops I, as shown in Fig. l of thedrawings, thus permitting of the ready inspection of the contents of thecase by simply removing the hoop and the stave J, which may be donewithout in any manner injuring the case or bruising the fruitthereincontained.

The head B of the packing-case consists of the five pieces or partsshown. The parts 0 are made of ordinary boards-say seveneighthsstuff-and in substantially the form shown, viz: Each of the said parts Chas one of its longitudinal edges 0 cut straight, while its oppositeedge is out upon an arc of a circle of a diameter corresponding with thediameter of the circle formed by the completed head of the packing-caseto which itis to be applied, the said are measuring a little more thanone-fourth of the circumference of the circle. The said partsO arejoined, preferably, at their connecting ends by mortiseand-tenon ortongue-and-groove joints, as shown at D and E, and along their inneredges they are formed with a groove or recess F for the reception of thesubstantially square centerpiece G, which central piece is made of thinwood-such as veneer or board, sawed thin. This central piece may or maynot be provided with suitable holes II for the purpose of ventilation.The recess or groove F may be upon one or both sides of the pieces C, aspreferred; but When upon both sides it provides for the use of the headeither side up, or for two center pieces G, as will be readilyunderstood. This center piece may be secured in place in any suitablemanner,

. the groove or recess forming a shoulder for its support.

Instead of forming the pieces 0 with tongue-and-groove ormortise-and-tenon connections, as above described,they may be connectedby means of rabbet-joints, as shown in Fig. 5' at Z), and, in fact, thislatter construction may sometimes be found preferable and Will be moreeasily made and perhaps stronger and less liable to break. In this formthe central piece G will be provided with cleats 0, adapted to besecured to the pieces 0 in any suitable manner.

Instead of forming the rabbcts upon diago-' nally-opposite corners, theymay be formed upon opposite corners. as indicated by dotted lines in thetop plan, Fig. 4.

A head for fruit-packing cases made in accordance with my invention, asabove disclosed, will be found to be .fully as substantial andserviceable as a head, the entire surface of which is made of a materialof equal thickness throughout, or as the same thickness as the parts C,as the outer edge presents a thick and substantial surface, to which thestaves or sides of the case and the hoops may be nailed. The severalparts of which the head is composed may be made from small pieces ofboards, which would otherwise be worthless, while the thin section inthe center of the head, being of thin material, will be less expensive,and, being more elastic or yielding, will not be as likely to inj urethe fruit by contact as would a thick and unyielding head, and it willat once be apparent that the use of a head such as I have abovedescribed provides a more perfect ventilation and permits of access tothe contents of the case without removing the hoops or disturbing theparts 0 of the head.

Of course when the sectional head is employed the feature of thedetachable stave J need not be present.

The lap-stave case may have only two heads. The head, with the groove 0rrecess upon each side, maybe employed in cases for a mid-head, the thinpieces on each side serving to protect fruit from edges that wouldotherwise cut it.

WVhat I claim as new is 1. A head for packing-cases, composed of aplurality of sections having their outer edges formed upon the arc of acircle and at their ends with oppositely-formed rabbets, means forsecuring the overlapped rabbeted ends together, and a rectangularcentral portion having cleats c facing the same and secured to the outersections, substantially as shown and described.

2. The herein-described improved fruitpacking case, the same comprising,in combination, two or more heads B, each composed of a series ofsections the outer edges of which are formed upon the arc of a circleand united at their ends by tongue-and-groove connections, a centralportion of thinner material than the said sections 0 and held in placewithin a groove formed in the inner edges of the sections 0, the stavesK, secured at their ends to the outer edges of the sections 0 of theheads, the hoops I, and the removable stave J, secured in place upon theinside of the hoops, substantially as shown and described, and for thepurpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RALPH J. PATTERSON.

l'Vitnesses:

J. S. LEE, H. W. WHALEY.

